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Sustainable Destination Management

Strategies in the OIC Member Countries

47

promotion. To ensure effective collaboration and cooperation, representatives from the

various government bodies are usually part of the executive or steering committees for MDTCs.

Local authorities are mainly responsible for delivery of services and day-to-day management

issues related to their section of the MDTC. In the case of the Neusidlersee-Seewinkly and Ferto-

Hansag Transboundary National Park, which was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2001,

seven local authorities fromAustria and Hungary manage the park according to the agreements

between both countries.

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The local tourism businesses and the public tourism institutions are the actual service

providers along the corridor, making their role quite instrumental for the success of MDTCs.

MDTCs stand to benefit from the support of the local tourism industry in promoting the theme

of the corridor.

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The support of local communities is also instrumental to the success of

MDTCs. In the case of the Columban Way, based on the memory of Irish monk, Columbanus,

who traveled from Ireland to Italy, founding Celtic monastic communities, local communities

support tourist offices by spreading information about events through word of mouth and

fliers. Local artists and historians also participate in festivals and lectures.

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The Holy Grail Route presents a good example of public-private cooperation in the

development of the corridor, with collaboration and coordination between local and regional

authorities and the tourism industry as well as universities, NGOs, and cultural associations.

The stakeholders involved in the Holy Grail Route include the Directorate General of Tourism,

the Government of Aragón, the company Sargantana, and universities from Spain, the UK,

Greece as well as the NGO My World from Bulgaria, and the company 5-Senses LTD from

Malta.

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Involving local communities, starting from the planning process to the implementation and

operation stage, is essential for the success of MDTCs. MDTCs need to provide added value to

local communities along the corridor both in terms of creating job opportunities and improving

their quality of life. MDTC management needs to research local communities carrying

capacities along the corridor to ensure the corridor does not exceed the limits of acceptable

change for these communities. MDTC management needs to set communication plans and

create channels to improve communication and the encouragement of the flow of information

and feedback from local communities.

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Offering a good example of involving local communities, the Réseau Art Nouveau Network

provided training sessions for teenage school students through the “Home alone!” project to

increase their awareness of the Art Nouveau heritage of the Horta Museum district. In the

context of the training, the teenagers were given control of the Horta museum during the

weekend of the European Heritage Days. They managed the reception and offered guided tours

and workshops to museum visitors.

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In the case of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) TC, various types of stakeholders, including

private and public stakeholders as well as non-governmental organizations, are involved in the

124

UNWTO (UNWTO) and European Travel Commission. 2017. Handbook on Marketing Transnational Tourism Themes and

Routes.

125

Ibid.

126

Ibid.

127

Ibid.

128

UNWTO (2015), Affiliate Members Global Reports, Volume twelve – Cultural Routes and Itineraries, UNWTO, Madrid.

129

Council of Europe. 2018. Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Programme: Activity Report.